Vent Assembly For A Grain Bin

ABSTRACT

A roof vent assembly wherein the grain bin has a corrugated cylindrical wall and a roof structure having a plurality of triangular roof panels. A vent assembly is connected to the roof. The vent assembly has a base. The base has a back wall, two side walls and a front wall which extend upwardly from the flange. The back wall and sidewalls are generally straight whereas the front wall extends outwardly to a point, peak or crest. When connected to the grain bin roof, the peak of the vent assembly is positioned to point upwardly. This peak prevents the build up of moisture and debris thereby extending the life of the grain bin roof assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed toward a vent for use with a grain bin suchas a bin for drying grain or grain storage.

Typically, after a grain bin is filled, air is blown through the bin forgrain conditioning purposes. To facilitate this air movementconventional grain bins are equipped with raised and vented floors androof vents. Air is blown under the raised floor which passes through thegrain and out the roof vents. These vents provide a dual purpose as theyallow air, dust and moisture to flow out of the grain bin whilepreventing birds and precipitation from entering the grain bin. In thisway, these vents allow a user to condition the grain to an appropriatemoisture level and store the grain for long periods of time withoutspoilage.

Conventional grain bin roofs angle or slope downwardly to protect thegrain within. Generally, a grain bin roof has several apertures cuttherein to allow air to flow out of the grain bin. These apertures arecapped or covered with roof vent assemblies which are attached to thegrain bin roof. These roof vent assemblies generally have a square basewhich is positioned and aligned perpendicularly to the downward slope ofthe grain bin.

While roof vent assemblies of this nature facilitate airflow through theroof, they have their drawbacks. Specifically, as conventional roof ventassemblies have a square base and are aligned perpendicularly to thedownward slope of the grain bin roof, this creates a flat area on thefront side, or uphill side of the vent assembly where moisture anddebris tend to collect or puddle. This collection of debris and moisturetend to cause this portion of the grain bin roof to deteriorate, leak orrust-out prematurely. In addition, the build-up of large amounts of iceduring the winter time can cause damage to, or mechanical failure of,the grain bin assembly or the roof itself. The configuration of theseconventional grain bin roof vent assemblies are large, voluminous andcumbersome and take up an undesirable amount of space when shipping.

Thus, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a grainbin roof vent assembly that prevents or reduces the build up of debris,ice and moisture that improves upon the state of the art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a grain bin roofvent assembly that takes up less space when shipping that improves uponthe state of the art.

These and other objects, features, or advantages will become apparentfrom the specification, drawings and claims.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A grain bin assembly wherein the grain bin has a corrugated cylindricalwall and a roof structure having a plurality of triangular roof panels.A vent assembly is connected to the roof and has a base. The base has aback wall, two side walls, a front wall and a flange that extendsoutwardly therefrom. The back wall and sidewalls are generally straightwhereas the front wall extends outwardly and is tapered to a point orpeak. When connected to the grain bin roof, the peak of the ventassembly is positioned to point upwardly. This peak prevents the buildup of moisture and debris thereby extending the life of the grain binroof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a grain bin assembly having a roof ventassembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vent assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vent assembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a vent assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a vent assembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of stacked base members;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a hood member;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an assembled vent assembly having a seamrunning through; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one side of a vent assembly halves instacked alignment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A grain drying bin 10 has a roof structure 12 having triangular roofpanels 14 joined together at rib junctions 16. The bin 10 also has acylindrical sidewall wall 18 generally formed from corrugated metalpanels 20. Connected to the roof 12 is a plurality of roof ventassemblies 22.

The vent assembly 22 has a base 24 with an outwardly extending flange26. The flange 26 has a plurality of apertures 28 used for connection tothe roof 12. The base 24 has a back or lower wall 30, sidewalls 32, anda front or top wall 34 that form an enclosure that fits over and is incommunication with an opening in the roof assembly. Preferably, backwall 30 is removably attached to the sidewalls 32 by flanges 30A thatextend from the back wall toward the front wall 34.

The front wall 34 has a lower edge 35 that extends from the sidewalls 32to a point, peak or rounded crest 36. The front wall also has anelongated portion 37 that extends between the sidewalls 32. From point36, the front wall 34 has a top edge 40 that extends upwardly toward theelongated portion 37 terminating at a base point 41. Extending betweenthe top edge 40 and the bottom edge 35 are a pair of panels or roundedsections 42 that form a partial pyramid or partial sphere respectively.

The front wall 34 and sidewalls 32 of the base 24 extend away from theroof assembly and terminate in a hood portion 44 to form an exhaustopening 62. Preferably the front wall 34 and sidewalls 32 taper inwardlyas they extend away from flange 26 to permit nesting of one ventassembly upon another for transport.

In one embodiment, extending outwardly from the hood portion 44 of thefront wall 34 is a canopy 45 that extends over at least a portion of thepartial pyramid of the front wall 34. The canopy is of any size andshape such as a partial pyramid or an elongated triangle. The canopy hasat least one and preferably more openings 47. The openings 47 permit airto flow from the roof vent assembly 22 onto the partial pyramid of thefront wall 34 to clear any debris that has collected.

In another embodiment the roof vent assembly 22 has a separate base 24.The bottom of base 24 has a flange 26 extending there around so as tofacilitate connection to roof 12. Flange 26 has a plurality of flangeapertures 28 therein to facilitate connection of the vent assembly 22 toroof 12 by way of passing a nut and bolt or screw through acorresponding aperture in roof 12.

Extending upwardly from flange 26 is a back wall 30, a pair of sidewalls32 and a front wall 34 to form a top edge 38 of the base. Preferably,back wall 30 is flat and straight and extends upwardly from flange 26 ina generally perpendicular manner. In addition, sidewalls 32 are arrangedin parallel spaced alignment to one another and connect at their backedge to the exterior ends of back wall 30 in a generally perpendicularmanner. In an alternative arrangement, to allow for easy stacking of aplurality of bases 24 the sidewalls 32 and back wall 30 angle slightlyinwardly towards one another as they extend upwardly.

The front wall 34 has a lower edge 35 that extends from the sidewalls 32to a point, peak or rounded crest 36. The front wall 34 also has anelongated portion 37 that extends between sidewalls 32. From point 36,the front wall has a top edge 40 that extends upwardly toward theelongated portion 37 terminating at a base point 41. Extending betweenthe top edge 40 and bottom edge 35 are a pair of panels or roundedsections 42 that form a partial pyramid or partial sphere respectively.

A hood member 44 is removeably connected to the base 24. The hood member44 has a pair of sidewalls 56 which are generally in spaced parallelalignment, and a top wall 60 that is connected to the sidewalls along anarcuate edge 58. The sidewalls 56 and top wall 60 form a semi-circularenclosure that extends from a first end 46 to a second end 61 andcreates an exhaust opening 62. Preferably, first end 46 of hood member44 has three sides, which consists of the first end of opposing sidewalls 56 and the first end of top wall 60. Second end 61 of hood member44 similarly has three sides, which consists of the second end ofopposing side walls 56 and the second end of top wall 60. With the firstend 46 and second end 61 only having three sides, this arrangementprovides an open and unencumbered interior space defined betweenopposing sidewalls 56 and arcuate top wall 60. This configuration allowsfor nesting and stackability of a plurality of hood members 44 therebysaving shipping space and costs. The hood member 44 is connected to thebase member 24 in any conventional way, preferably with bolts orself-tapping screws. Preferably, top edge 38 of the base 24 has anoutwardly extending ridge 50 and first end 46 of the hood member 44 hasan inwardly extending ridge 48. When first end 46 of the hood member 44is placed over top edge 38 of the base member 24, ridge 50 engages firstend 46 and seals the hood member 44 to the base member 24. While FIG. 6depicts base member 24 having outwardly extending ridge 50 and FIG. 7depicts hood member 44 having inwardly extending ridge 48 either ridge48, 50 can extend outwardly or inwardly. Similarly, while FIGS. 6 & 7show both base member 24 and hood member 44 having a ridge 50, 48,respectively, in an alternative arrangement it is herein contemplatedthat only one of base member 24 or hood member 44 has a ridge 48, 50.That is, in this alternative arrangement, if hood member 44 has inwardlyextending ridge 48, base member 24 does not have outwardly extendingridge 50. Alternatively, if base member 24 has outwardly extending ridge50, hood member 44 does not have inwardly extending ridge 48.Alternatively, a ridge and detent arrangement is used to lock the hoodmember 44 to the base member 24.

Positioned between the exhaust opening 62 the first end 46 of the hoodmember 44 is a screen 64 that is pivotally mounted to sidewalls 56. Thescreen, when closed, prevents birds and other objects from entering thebin 10 through the vent assembly 22.

With the front wall 34 of base 24 having a peak 36 which extendsoutwardly therefrom and sidewalls which angle inwardly from the flange26, a plurality of bases are stacked in nesting alignment with oneanother for shipping purposes. This nesting allows a plurality of bases24 to occupy only a fraction of the space of un-stacked bases 24. Tofacilitate this nesting or stacking, it is preferable to have the frontwall 34, sidewalls 32 and back wall 30 angle slightly inward towards oneanother as they extend upward from flange 26.

In operation, an aperture is cut into the roof 12 of a grain bin 10. Abase 24 is positioned over this aperture with its peak 36 pointinguphill or towards the crest of roof 12. Once in this alignment, base 24is attached to the roof through any means known in the art. In apreferred method, a bead of caulk or weather stripping is positionedbetween the grain bin roof 12 and the flange 26 and a plurality ofscrews or bolts are passed through flange 26 and roof 12. Once in place,these bolts are tightened thereby holding the vent assembly in place. Inan alternative embodiment, a metal strip (not shown) may be placed abovethe flange 26 and/or below the roof 12 and tightened in place. Next,first end 46 of hood member 44 is placed over top edge 38 of the base 24such that ridge 50 of the base 24 engages end 46 of the hood member 44sealing the base 24 and hood member 44 together.

In an alternative embodiment, base 24 and hood member 44 are formed as asingle piece which is symmetrically split down plane 43 into a firsthalf 66 and a second half 68. Like the previous arrangement, thisclamshell arrangement allows for the stacking or nesting of a pluralityof respective first and second halves 66, 68 which similarly providesthe benefit of space savings when shipping the component parts. Toaccomplish stackability of the respective halves 66, 68, the top wall 60and sidewalls 32, 56 are tapered.

The first and second halves 66, 68 are connected to one another and thescreen 64 is positioned to cover the entire passageway through base 24and hood 44. Once assembled the roof vent assembly 22 is attached to theroof 12 as described above. In this way, with peak 36 pointing upwardly,or uphill, debris, water and ice tend to flow away from peak 36 therebypreventing the build up of debris and moisture on the uphill side ofroof vent assembly 22. The angle of peak 36 tends to help prevent thebuild up of snow, ice, or debris thereby reducing the potential fordeterioration of the roof.

The roof vent assembly 22 is made of any suitable material such as sheetmetal, galvanized steel, plastic, thermoplastic, fiberglass, compositeor any other material that is structurally sound and resistant to theharsh environment of a grain bin roof.

From the above discussion it will be appreciated that the peaked ventfor a grain bin roof presented provides an improved venting assemblythat prevents or reduces the build up of debris, ice and moisture andthat takes up less space when shipping. Accordingly, the peaked vent fora grain bin roof provides and offers many advantages over the prior art.It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variousmodifications could be made to the device without parting from thespirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications and changesfall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be coveredthereby.

1. A roof vent assembly comprising: a base portion and hood portionhaving a front wall and sidewalls; a removeable back wall; wherein thefront wall has a pair of panels that extend from a top edge to a bottom.2. The roof assembly of claim 1 wherein the sidewalls and front walltaper inwardly as they extend from the base portion to the hood portion.3. The roof assembly of claim 1 wherein a canopy extends outwardly fromthe hood portion.
 4. The roof assembly of claim 3 wherein the canopy hasopenings.
 5. The roof vent assembly of claim 1 wherein the panels form apartial pyramid.
 6. The roof vent assembly of claim 1 wherein the panelsform a partial sphere.
 7. A roof vent assembly comprising: a base havinga bottom edge and a top edge; said base having a front wall, a pair ofsidewalls and a back wall; said front wall extending outwardly inrelation to the sidewalls.
 8. The roof vent assembly of claim 7 whereinthe front wall has an elongated portion that tapers from the bottom edgeto the top edge.
 9. The roof vent assembly of claim 7 wherein thesidewalls taper inwardly towards one another from the bottom edge to thetop edge.
 10. The roof vent assembly of claim 7 wherein the back walltapers inwardly towards the front wall as it extends upwardly from thebottom edge to the top edge.
 11. The roof vent assembly of claim 7wherein a hood assembly is connected to the base.
 12. The roof ventassembly of claim 7 wherein a plurality of bases nest within one anotherin a vertical alignment.
 13. The roof vent assembly of claim 7 wherein acanopy extends outwardly from a hood member and covers the peak.
 14. Theroof vent assembly of claim 13 wherein the canopy has openings.
 15. Aroof vent assembly comprising: a front wall, a pair of sidewalls and aback wall which extend upwardly from a bottom edge; the front wallextends outwardly in relation to the sidewalls to form a peak; and aseam separating the roof vent assembly into a pair of clamshells. 16.The roof vent assembly of claim 15 further comprising a canopy thatextends outwardly over the peak.
 17. The roof vent assembly of claim 16wherein the canopy has openings.
 18. The roof vent assembly of claim 15wherein each side of the seam has a connection member for receiving theopposing clamshell.